Our flagship Pale Ale is a smooth, balanced, copper-colored session beer with mildly spiced flavor and aroma from the East Kent Goldings hops. The bready, lightly caramel malt complements the hint of fruitiness contributed by the London Ale yeast, making it satisfying and authentic; the perfect flagship beer for Schlafly.

Sixteenth century brewers created amber beers by using a form of coal called coke to roast their grains. Coke burns hotter and more steadily than wood without imparting the foul odors from coal. It allowed brewers to produce caramel malts that were paler alternatives to the common brown porters. At about the same time, Flemish migrants introduced hops to English beers and soon this ale became the chosen style of England from the mid-16th century until the end of the 20th century. Today, brewers outside England have adopted the Pale Ale and made it one of the leading styles of the American craft beer movement.

Reviews by rwhitmore:

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Pours deep orange with an off white head of luscious foam that fell slowly. Bubble streaming up and although the color is very deep and darker than the usual pale ale, it's clear. Left a small layer of bubbles that fell to a film and ring. Thick sturdy lace.The nose on this is terrific. First you get some tea like notes, then hay, earth and a sweet little hint of dank. The english hop character on this is the definition of floral. Toasted malt and caramel. Grass and dry spice. Light orange. Lightly peppered. Taste is all bread and cracker. East Kent Goldings hop taste and it finishes quick and wet with a small bitter and a little hop resin.

Fruit is not the star in this beer. The hops have a bright and vivid quality to impart to the caramel malt. The yeast leans into the brew a bit sour to compliment the spice and the bread carries it away. This is a hearty and rich pale ale with a full mouthfeel that's crisp. This was a real treat as compared to the cookie cutter pale ales you normally see that try to imitate an IPA. Original and civilized. (1,059 characters)

Transparent amber color with a whispy noggin. Obviously English inspired woody and earthy tones in the nose. Malty and fruity yeast flavors transpire. Little to no hop bitterness, for me. Pretty basic beer. Move along, not much to see here folks. (276 characters)

This is Schlafly's most traditional session ale, an English-style Pale Ale.

It's a bright and clear amber-hued brew with lots of tiny bubbles racing to the top of the glass. Excellent froth off a hard pour, with sticky patches of white lace clinging to the glass all the way down to the bottom. Gentle, yet very aromatic with hints of flowers, faint citrus, golden raisins and a biscuity malt in the nose. Spot-on smoothness from a moderate level of carbonation and a fluffy body. Wonderful symmetry between the malt and hops. A bit of sweetness paired with a slight biscuity tone that melds with a modest yet sizeable hop bitterness that lays down a soft blanket of herbal flavor. A bit wet and juicy from middle to end, with a mild fruitiness. Finishes a smidge more on the sweet side.

Other than the fresh taste, it would be hard to pin this as an American- brewed ale. It's one of the most drinkable session ales we've had this year. Cheers to Schlafly for this ale. For a proper food pairing, go with a heaping plate of bangers and mash. (1,090 characters)

Light brown in color with a half inch of tightly woven off white head. Excellent clarity. Brussels lacing. Aroma is filled with pale malt along the lines of a saltine cracker that is definitely a biscuity malt flavor. The body is moderately carbonated,dry,and crisp. I get pale malt ands bit of a bittering hop fade. (316 characters)

Pours a murky brown to dark yellow with some orange in it, lack of carbonation and head, lacing etc. . . Aroma was miniscule.

Taste, borderline run of the mill, not offensive, but lacked hopping. Some substance, it isn't made with corn or anything it seems, but really, this is right up there with anything from SA Pale or whatnot. Just isn't enough for an extreme beer drinker, and there's so many superior 5% pales out there, this one is hard to justify at the price. Use this beer to bring people under the craft tent if you will. (534 characters)

Some hops, some malt... I guess there's citrus in there. It tastes pretty similar with faint citrus notes and a decent malt backbone. Medium carbonation and mouthfeel but there's nothing earth-shattering going on here.

I could see putting a few of these away during a summer BBQ, but I wouldn't go out of my way for this. My first Schlafly beer doesn't exactly whet my appetite for more, but I wouldn't turn down another free sixer either. (486 characters)

This beer pours a clear, golden yellow color, with a fluffy, slightly off white head. The head fades very slowly, leaving a massive lacing.

This beer has a biscuity aroma. I detect a mild hop aroma, but mostly biscuits dominate. It has a sweet malty aroma as well. I was ecpecting a stronger hopping, but I guess that is my west coast palate.

This beer pretty much tastes like it smells. Malty, and bready. A very mild hop flavor present too, but mostly biscuit malt.

This beer is light, and smooth. It leaves a sweet malty aftertaste. Carbonation is good.

This beer would probably make an excelent session beer. It tastes good, but it is lower alcohol, and mild flavor.

Overall: Thanks to Vancer for this kind hook up. This is a pretty damn good beer. It isnt extreme, or aggressive. Some times that is good. I have liked everything I have ever had from Schlafly, and this is no exception. (896 characters)